British victims of terrorist attacks abroad have accused the Government of secretly shelving a deal to pay them compensation for their horrific injuries.

Will has been fighting for compensation along with other british victims of terrorism abroadPhoto: HEALTHCLIFF O'MALLEY

By Robert Mendick, Chief reporter

9:00PM GMT 20 Nov 2010

The Ministry of Justice said the scheme to make payments to victims of attacks in Mumbai, Bali and other atrocities was now under review even though it had been backed by the Conservatives in opposition.

The decision to look at the payments again has angered victims and comes in the week when the Government agreed to pay millions of pounds to British detainees in Guantánamo Bay.

"It is absolutely disgraceful that we are being left hanging like this," said Will Pike, who was left paralysed below the waist after jumping from a third floor window to escape gunmen rampaging through the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai.

"We thought we had finally won the battle. I don't even believe in compensation culture but there are real additional costs to my life that now have to be met because I am paralysed and in a wheelchair.

"Now I fear they will shelve the whole thing and they won't even talk to me about it. It is so disrespectful."

It is believed about 40 to 50 people should have been eligible to make compensation claims and the total payout would run to just a few million pounds.

Victims of atrocities since 2002 had been promised payments although those are now in doubt.

Victims of crime in the UK – whether they are British citizens or not – are currently entitled to compensation up to £500,000 depending on the seriousness of injuries suffered.

But British victims of terrorism abroad, who are generally not covered by travel insurance, have been left without any financial support despite often suffering devastating and life-threatening injuries.

Mr Pike, 30, who had to give up his job as a film-maker, desperately needs the compensation to enable him to move to a purpose built flat that will accommodate his wheelchair.

So far he has not had a penny despite the last Government agreeing to the deal as far back as January and finally passing legislation in April that should have entitled him to as much as half a million pounds.

His lawyer Jill Greenfield, a personal injury solicitor with Field Fisher Waterhouse, said: "It is absolutely outrageous that British victims of terrorism abroad – many of whom were singled out for being British – had been promised ex-gratia payments and now the Government is refusing to say whether it will stick to that pledge.

"These people are getting the brush off when they have really serious injuries. Nothing has happened in six months.

"They are innocent victims who are now being ignored. The Government's attitude towards them is absolutely appalling."

The scheme to compensate overseas terror victims was brought in by the last Government only in April just before the election following a concerted campaign, which had cross party support.

Victims were led to believe they could start making claims in September once the scheme was up and running.

But so far the Ministry of Justice has refused to put any mechanism in place to allow victims to make claims – and refuses to say whether they will now pay out.

Following swingeing budget cuts, the whole system administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which currently has a backlog of about 50,000 cases, is now under review.

In an email exchange seen by The Sunday Telegraph, a senior official with the Ministry of Justice's Victim and Witness Unit wrote last week to Mr Pike's father Nigel.

They wrote: "This administration have not yet taken any decisions about this yet so I'm afraid I'm not in a position to answer your questions at this stage. I'll let you know when decisions have been taken."

Will Pike and his partner Kelly Doyle, 34, were staying in the Taj Mahal on the last day a of a two-week holiday in India, when they found themselves holed up in their bedroom as gunmen went on their killing spree.

Staying hidden for five hours, they realised they needed to escape the room as smoke poured under the door, threatening to suffocate them. Will picked up a marble table and managed to smash the locked windows.

The couple then knotted sheets and curtains together and, fearing the gunmen were closing in and with the fire spreading through the hotel, Will attempted to climb 60ft down the improvised rope to safety.

"I started making my way down this makeshift rope and I could just feel it loosen, gravity kicked in and I just blacked out," recalled Will, "I had landed right on the base of my spine." His elbow was also smashed and one leg broken.

He underwent a seven-hour operation in India before being flown back after 10 days to the UK where he spent six months in hospital.

With the second anniversary of the attack on Friday [26 nov], Will is devastated that the Ministry of Justice is ignoring his pleas for a resolution.

"They are making us play the game and this isn't a game," he said.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "This Government believes that support should be offered to the most serious, most vulnerable and most persistently targeted victims of crime – ensuring that those who actually need support receive it.

"Following the Ministry of Justice's Spending Review settlement, Ministers are reviewing all victims' services and considering where best to allocate funds. We expect to have a decision on this review in the New Year."